Abstract
Greidanus is Professor Emeritus of Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan. This is one of a growing series of books by him on preaching Christ from the Old Testament. In these books he applies seven, sometimes overlapping, ways by which he thinks the preacher can move legitimately from an Old Testament passage to Jesus in the New Testament (pp. 27-8). Some (e.g. typology, analogy) are more subjective and problematic than others (e.g. redemptive-historical progression, promise-fulfilment). The book consists of a detailed section-by-section (usually chapter-by-chapter) study of Daniel. Each study ends in a ‘sermon exposition’. This is not the sermon but is intended as the basis for it. Two appendices by Ryan Faber give examples of sermons based on Daniel 1 & 9.
For Greidanus the meaning of a passage begins and ends with the original author’s intention. There is no place for reader-response or other ways of reading the text. His insistence that the primary message of the Bible is theocentric is welcome but in his criticism of commentators who ‘moralise’ from the text he is sometimes unfair, not recognising that they are drawing lessons for practical godly living within the context of the theocentric message of the text. Sermons which do not include such practical content can leave the hearers wondering how its theocentric message relates to their daily life.
On historical-critical issues Greidanus is generally conservative. He dates Daniel to the sixth-century BC and understands the sequence of four empires in Daniel 2 & 7 as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. In reaching these conclusions he does not apply the same level of critique to the conservative positions as he does to those with which he disagrees. However, the ‘textual theme and goal’ for the sermon that he derives from each passage is not greatly affected by these judgements and could be readily adapted by those who disagree with them.
The ‘formulaic’ approach of this book to exegesis and to the move from text to sermons is both its strength and weakness. It can be helpful to use such an approach from time-to-time, especially for the inexperienced preacher. However, it can become confining and lead to a ‘sameness’ in preaching that the hearers might in time find boring. Greidanus never suggest varying his ‘expository’ approach by, for example, the preacher telling the narrative from the perspective of one of the characters.